The Jokers' Love
by TheLovedGranger
Summary: Hermione gets a job at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes as a last resort because of Fred. Why did Fred hire her when no one else would? Are there feelings there or just pity? M rating definitely for the future. Sorry for leaving that out. This is now a Fred/Hermione/George with NO TWINCEST! This is the repost of the story starting with Chapter One. Trigger Warning: Abuse
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Welcome back lovelies. This is the first chapter of the newly reworked Jokers' Love. Please drop a review and let me know what you think!**

Three years after the war saw many changes. One, Hermione was working at a joke shop. Any human worth their pay checks would know that that in itself is odd. They would say it is even odder when they find out she works at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. WWW belongs to the twins Fred and George Weasley, her ex-boyfriend's brothers. Now, most people would think that would be the most awkward thing in the world. Well it wasn't. Hermione loved working there. She had a great time, good pay, good benefits and awesome bosses.

The twins, in turn, loved that Hermione was working for them. She was brilliant and was always smiling, which was good for business. When she wasn't working on the floor she was in the back helping with payments and ordering new ingredients for their jokes. It was only natural they treated her well. She was an absolute Godsend and they let her know that every day, especially Fred.

Fred had been nursing a little crush on the woman since the day she saved him during the Battle of Hogwarts. She had pushed him out of the way of the exploding wall and miraculously saved them both. He would never forget her lying on top of him, looking down to see if he was okay. Her little hands grabbing his face to make sure she could see his eyes. He had been grateful for it ever since.

When he had found out that her blood status was still preventing her from getting a job he had tried talking to the ministry to see if he could pull some strings. But alas he couldn't. So he did as any Weasley would do. He offered her a job without even talking to George. George took it surprisingly well which made Fred happy but also a little nervous. He didn't want his brother to ask questions later. The questions that would be asked wouldn't be able to be answered with words. He would have to show him memories and that was out of the question.

George, on the other hand, was not planning to ask questions. He knew without his brother telling him that Fred liked Hermione in a not so platonic way. It had been obvious since the exploding wall. He was glad that Fred had offered her the job. He knew that she was going to work hard no matter what; it was a part of her. She was also a part of the family despite her break up with Ron. Ron had been a right jack ass to her and the family kicked him out after the break up. As far as the family knew he was back with Lavender and had proceeded to knock her up.

Hermione had been graciously accepted into the fold and well taken care of by the Weasley matriarch, Molly. Molly was everyone's favorite person because of her cooking skills and advice which had never been wrong. It was actually her idea that Hermione, who hadn't been at all happy in the relationship, break up with her youngest son. It was also her that noticed that Fred liked Hermione and had urged him to try and get her the job of her dreams. Of course when that hadn't worked she convinced him to hire her himself, explaining that anything that would keep her mind busy would be better than her sitting at home wallowing in self-pity.

Which brings us back to Hermione standing in the joke shop helping what looked like a 13 year old boy find the joke product he wanted without ripping her hair out. This child was changing his mind faster than she could shout lumos and it was seriously bothering her. Of course, having a headache in this kind of situation never helps, so when he changed his mind she lost it.

"Look, if you want to keep changing your mind go find an owner. I don't know the store as well as they do."

"Oh, okay, I'm sorry for troubling you ma'am."

Hermione relaxed visibly as the boy went looking for one of the twins.

"So", said the amused voice of one of the twins, "you okay?"

"No, Fred I am not okay. What would give you the slightest inkling that I am 'okay'", Hermione said.

"I didn't expect you to be okay. I just heard that sometimes asking after ones welfare was polite in certain societies."

"Well", Hermione began, "I have a headache, Ron is still being an arse about the break up, I'm tired and I just had an annoying customer. Why don't you do the math?"

"Well I would but it seems you are talking to the wrong twin", Fred said with a chuckle, "I'm no good at math."

Hermione laughed and shook her head. "Sometimes, Fred, a little maturity wouldn't be amiss from you. It might even be helpful."

Fred sighed. "Hermione, you need to take a break. You are constantly stressed about everything and it isn't good for you."

Hermione looked at Fred incredulously. "Leave you and George on your own in the shop after all the hard work I've done? Are you out of your mind? You would destroy my carefully laid out inventory system!"

"Hermione, we did run this shop without you for a few years."

"Ha! It was a mess in the back room when I first started here!"

Fred just shook his head. "You really need a break, Hermione. You are still hung up on the break up and that is why Ron keeps coming around. As soon as you stop focusing on it he will leave you alone."

Hermione sighed. "I'm not taking time off, Fred. I still need to pay rent and taking time off would hamper that."

"Fine, but work on getting past the break up."

Hermione nodded before walking away. She hated conversations like that and wanted to distract herself with work. Deciding to hide herself in the back room she started working on an inventory list.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello my darling readers! I have edited and added to this chapter to give background on Hermione's situation. I had a reader ask me why Hermione would stay in the wizarding world and this chapter has the answer! Please read and review. I do so love reading them!**

Hermione quickly gathered up her stuff to leave work. As soon as she was packed up she was moving toward the door only to have it blocked by a tall, broad shouldered Weasley.

"Ron, get out of my before I hex you."

"Aw, that's not fair Hermione. I just wanted to come visit you at work."

"Ron, you lost the right to do that when I broke up with you."

"But Hermione we know that you didn't mean to break up with me. I know you still love me, you just don't want to admit it."

"Ronald you are officially grating on my last nerve. I have had a particularly poor day and you being here is just making it worse. Now, get out of my way before I decide to hex you."

"I would get out of her way", said a voice Hermione recognized as Fred's. She sighed in relief. When she looked at Ron, she could see he was about to make a stupid comment. So she made a decision that she would probably regret.

She pulled her wand out and turned Ron into a platypus. Fred looked at her for a second and then burst into hysterics at the animal she had chosen for Ron's punishment. Hermione blushed realizing that she had let her temper get the best of her.

"A platypus, Hermione", Fred asked with a grin. "You're getting creative with your spells."

"Yes, well working for you and George has really gotten my creative juices flowing. Now I really do wish to go home because I am now in an even worse mood than before. I will see you tomorrow."

Fred watched Hermione go with a strange sense of foreboding. He knew something was going on and she was just refusing to acknowledge it.

Hermione made her way to her flat in muggle London. She knew she could have disapparated but she felt like she needed the fresh air to clear her mind. She was having issues with how she was forced to perform during the final battle and it was affecting her personal life. She couldn't handle the stress, nor could she go to a mind healer to get the closure she needed. She needed someone that was there to help her but she didn't want her family to know.

Thinking back on her actions at work, Hermione realized that Fred probably noticed that something was wrong with her. He would have noticed her having off days or even weeks where she just didn't feel herself. He would be the safest person to go to for help, she decided. He would not judge her or make her feel uncomfortable. Going to Fred was the best idea.

Fred went back to the back room and sat down. He started thinking about Hermione's actions since the break up and realized that's when many of the problems started. Ron had become one of the biggest arses and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Unless… he jumped up and went to get George to start planning.

The next morning saw Hermione steeling herself in front of her mirror. She knew logically she needed to talk about what was going on but her heart was trying to stand in the way. She usually kept everything in until the last minute because it was easiest. This time however, she knew that it all needed to be said. Fred deserved to know about what his brother did to her even if it was still too painful.

She quickly left her flat and walked to the apparition point. She knew that if she took the time to walk to the store she would chicken out and not tell Fred. Apparition would get her there with little to no time to think. Walking swiftly to the store she looked around for Fred. While she didn't see Fred, she saw George.

"Oi, George, where's Fred?"

"He was still up in the flat when I came down. You okay?"

"I'm fine, just need to talk to him really quick."

"Oh well then go ahead and go up. He won't mind I'm sure."

Hermione smiled at George and walked up to the flat. Before going in she knocked and called out, "Fred, are you in there? I was hoping we could have a chat."

Not hearing anything Hermione knocked again and entered the flat. "Fred," she called out again, "George said I could come up. I wanted to talk about Ronald and the break up."

She kept moving through the flat trying to find her other boss calling out occasionally. Finally, she stopped moving through the flat and puttered about the kitchen making a pot of tea. She would need something to keep her calm while she talked about the past. During the preparation, Fred finally removed himself from the shower and got dressed for work. Hearing noises in the kitchen he quickly finished dressing and walked to the room. He stood in the doorway for a moment trying to figure out why he was seeing Hermione making tea in his kitchen.

"Um, Hermione," Fred started, "why are you in my kitchen?"

Hermione jumped at the sound of Fred's voice behind her.

"Fred, you startled me! I came up because I wanted to talk to you."

Fred looked at her with consideration, "About… Ron?"

Hermione smiled slightly, "Yes, about Ronald."

Fred danced a little. "Alright then, let's take a seat."

Hermione took a deep breath as she sat down. She knew that Fred would support her no matter what she told her but this was information only 3 people had. Herself and Ronald because they were involved and surprisingly Draco. Draco had been the person that found her stumbling around the Parisian wizarding district. She had been stumbling around trying to find a place to stay covered in bruises. People on the street just looked at her with mild concern or disgust, but Draco had stopped once he recognized her. He took her to his Paris flat and cleaned her up. Hermione stayed there for a while before coming back to Britain.

Fred coughed and the sound pushed Hermione from her memories. She smiled guiltily at Fred. "I'm sorry, I just got pushed back into memories."

Fred chuckled. "I'm sure this is hard for you, Hermione. Take your time. George can manage without us for a while."

Hermione took another breath and started to tell Fred everything.

Fred sat in awe as Hermione just spoke. The things she was saying about a person he had known for his entire life were shocking. That his little brother would ever dream of treating a woman like he treated Hermione was astounding to him. He knew what his mum would do if she found out about it and it would not be pretty. The most shocking thing however was what happened to her parents.

Fred had known, as most people had, that Hermione obliviated her parents to avoid any issues with death eaters and sent them to Australia. Hermione had told everyone that when she went to bring them home that they had decided to stay in Australia with their memories as they had grown to love it there. That was a lie. Their memories had been altered so well that it was impossible to bring them back. This of course was followed by her insane decision to stay with Ronald.

Ronald had been an asshole. He treated Hermione as his own personal slave which had the effect of making her feel worthless. Hermione hadn't applied for any jobs during her relationship with Ronald and was rarely seen outside of the flat or the Burrow. She had become highly adept at using glamour charms to hide how much she wasn't eating as she didn't want Molly to worry about her or find out just how awful her son was being. As the relationship had gone on Ronald's attention on her had become fleeting which was good news for Hermione. After a few weeks of continuously decreasing attentions, it was discovered that Ronald was having an affair with another witch that he had met. Hermione was just thankful that it wasn't with Lavender. While she didn't like the witch, she didn't want to see her stuck in the same awful situation.

Hermione took the knowledge of Ronald's infidelity and used it as the catalyst for ending their relationship. After over a year of being beaten and sexually used by Ronald, she fled to France. Of course, before running to France Ronald had taken out his anger on her which is why she was so confused when she made it there. As a child she had spent many weeks in France during vacations with her parents and so it was no surprise that that is where she went to flee the wrath of her drunken ex-boyfriend. What had been a surprise was that Draco Malfoy was the one that helped her recuperate after fleeing.

After stumbling around the Parisian wizarding district, Hermione had literally run into Draco who took her to his flat to clean up and take time away from Britain. Many people had tried to contact her but she ignored every owl sent to her as she did not want to tell anyone why she had left. She knew that Ronald would still be hiding his preferences toward the treatment of his girlfriends from his family, so she was that only one that could tell the truth. Despite that, she didn't want anyone to see her as week. She knew that she could have tried to do something but she didn't. She didn't know how to get out of that situation without losing the only family she had left.

Hermione and Draco quickly bonded during the time she was in France. He became something akin to a brother and she was glad that he had found her. After about a month in France, she felt safe enough to return to Britain where she cancelled her contract on the flat and found a new one. She quickly erected wards on it that would prevent Ronald from finding it, including a fidelius with herself as the secret keeper. She stayed in her new flat for a few days before Fred's owl with the job offer had showed up which she accepted immediately.

Fred sat there with his mouth open. He knew he looked ridiculous but he couldn't help it. What happened to Hermione was just so amazingly horrible that he couldn't do anything but stare at her dumbfounded. He had no idea what he could say about what happened without sounding insincere. He had no experience dealing with situations like this and so he was speechless.

As Fred sat staring, Hermione fidgeted. She wanted to give Fred time to digest all the information she had just dropped on him. She knew it was a lot and at this point almost wished she had brought a pensieve so she didn't have to relive all that. It had been one of the worst times of her life and it was just pain constantly being compounded. She couldn't believe that she had dealt with all the shit that Ronald had done to her. She was glad that Fred had given her the job. Her life was so much better now because of it.

After what felt like several hours but was just a few minutes, Fred spoke.

"Hermione, you have to be the strongest witch I have ever met."

Hermione blushed slightly. "I have no idea what you mean, Fred. There are many people that have gone through worse than I have and come out smiling."

"You did all that without someone to help you for a year though. None of knew what you were going through and you hid it so well… I just feel terrible that I didn't notice that you were not eating."

Hermione laughed for a second. "It's not like you were watching me eat, or even thought to watch me eat. I didn't drop any hints about Ronald hurting me. I didn't want anyone to find out about how I was being treated. I was worried I would look weak because I wasn't stopping it."

"Why didn't you stop it? I know that you are powerful enough to have squished him like a bug."

"I was scared of losing the only family I had left. With my parents being irretrievable, your family is my only family."

Fred shook his head. "You silly witch. If we had found out about what Ronald was doing he would have been thrown out on his arse. That is if mum left anything attached to throw."

At that Hermione actually laughed. Not a small chuckle or a laugh that was only a few seconds. She let out a full belly, several minute long laugh. The image of what Ronald would look like after Molly got a hold of her wayward son was too much for the stressed witch to handle. The laughing was cathartic and she could actually enjoy the image for a few minutes.

Fred watched Hermione laugh. He knew what she was laughing at but he was surprised that she was laughing. He knew her to be a very compassionate witch even if someone had treated her like crap. Her ability to become friends with Malfoy was a great example. Though he had never physically hurt her, his verbal abuses were legendary. That she could forgive that was quite spectacular, but he knew that Ron had done that one thing that Hermione would never forgive; physical abuse.

Seeing how much she had needed to laugh Fred came up with a plan. He would move forward with the caution of a person that knew the plan might fail, but he would move forward nonetheless. Now he just needed to talk to his brother.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello my people! I am sorry this one took so long but it has been a looooong end of the year in my house. I had finals and then I was spending time with my family and now I am back in classes. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter (sorry for how short it is) and remember, I do not own Harry Potter! Also if you guys are interested I can post on my twitter account when this fic is updated (if you aren't already following it on here). If you are interested drop me a pm and I'll give you my handle.**

Fred and Hermione made their way back down to the store after their discussion. Hermione kissed Fred on the cheek and thanked him for listening to her and expressed that he didn't need to keep this from George. While she didn't have a twin, she was sure that keeping secrets from his twin was painful. From the smile of thanks she got, she was pretty sure she was correct.

Fred smiled at Hermione before heading to the shop floor where he knew his twin was waiting.

"So what have you two been up to," George asked.

"She told me everything that happened."

George gaped at Fred. "Everything? As in what happened in the relationship and why she disappeared for a month?"

"Yup, she told me everything. I can't believe how strong that little witch is."

"What do you mean how strong she is? Was it that bad?"

"I'll put my memories in our pensieve after work so you can see her explain everything. I'm afraid of missing something important."

"Is there that much? Do I really want to see what happened to her? It sounds awful already."

Fred smiled ruefully, "If you want to know what happened you have to watch her tell it. That's the only way you'll ever know."

George sighed and nodded at his brother. He knew that however much he didn't want to know what happened, he needed to know so that he could help his brother with the witch.

"Alright, Fred, show me after closing tonight."

Fred nodded at his brother before turning to the floor of the shop.

Hermione felt light, much lighter than she had felt before talking about her issues. She was glad that talking about it and had helped. Looking back at her morning Hermione couldn't help but laugh at herself. She couldn't understand now why she had been so nervous about talking about it. Sure, it was painful, but it helped her. She remembered her mum would always make her talk about what was bothering her when she was little and talking to Fred mimicked that.

As Hermione sat down to start the inventory work, she noticed that she was smiling again. It had been so long since she had smiled without a reason that it came as a surprise albeit a welcome one. She was glad that she was able to smile without feeling guilty about Ronald. For so long she thought she couldn't be happy without Ronald being happy that she just stopped being happy. Now she was free. More free than she had been in a long time.

George took time that day to sneak into the inventory room to watch Hermione. He knew he was being a bit of a creep, but he needed to see how happy she was for himself. He knew he could trust Fred but something like this was better seen for oneself. He too had been upset that Hermione had been less than her happiest for so long and was glad that there was a change. Looking at Hermione, who was totally engrossed in her work, George felt himself fall a little deeper for her than before. He knew it was wrong to be longing for his brother's crush but he couldn't help it. She was beautiful and smart and he just wanted to help her. After a few minutes George turned around and left to go do his own job, impatient to see what had happened to Hermione.

Walking back into the front of the store, George caught Fred's eye and nodded with a small smile. Fred nodded back and continued helping the customer he was standing with. George turned to the area with the cash till and saw a small line that was building and quickly ran over to help. He still couldn't believe how popular the store was even after so many years. He knew by now though, that a lot of that had to do with Hermione. She had come up with so many ideas for the store it wasn't funny. She had created a product that gave people uncontrollable diarrhea. It was a product that flew off the shelves. That was the first idea that she had shared with the twins. After hearing it, the twins managed to get her to tell them that she had more ideas in a notebook and they made her show them. All of those ideas were now reality and being sold to the public. All of them were completely hilarious and totally worth every hour spent brewing.

As George checked out the many customers that seemed to come from nowhere he continued to think about the woman in their inventory room. He knew Fred liked her and knew that he shouldn't be falling for her but he truly couldn't help it. He thought she was brilliant. Not just because she provided new and better products but because she had managed to not get killed in the 7 years of school. She was able to use the knowledge she gained and not just for book things but for creating joke products. She came up with theories and put them to use in ways Fred and George could only dream about. She was amazing… That was all George could think. He knew that Hermione wouldn't want to come between the twins and wouldn't be with either of them if she knew how they both felt so it was easier to let Fred be the man. He would find someone else.

He didn't want to have to find someone else and he knew it would be insanely difficult to find anyone remotely like Hermione but he would do it for Fred. He would do it for the twin he almost lost.


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione sat in the inventory room working quietly. In the background was a playlist of classical music coming from a box she had charmed to play when opened. One thing that she had missed the most from her muggle childhood was he CD player and so she was ecstatic when she found the spell. Currently playing was Spring by Vivaldi and Hermione was quietly humming along. Whilst engrossed in the inventory she lost track of the time, which meant she was completely surprised when George walked up behind to tell her to eat.

George knew he shouldn't have walked up behind her like that but he couldn't help it. She looked so calm as she worked and as a prankster it made sense so he walked up behind her and tapped her shoulder while saying her name. Next thing George knew he was pinned up against a wall with a wand pressed into is side by a panting Hermione. He stared into her eyes for a moment as they cleared. Once Hermione's eyes were clear she quickly backed away and turned away from him.

"I-I am so sorry, George", Hermione said quietly. In her voice George could hear shame and he winced.

"No, it is my fault. I know how badly you were affected by the war and yet I still snuck up on you. I am the one that needs to be sorry, not you."

George kept looking at her and noticed that she was trembling. Feeling awful he carefully walked over to her and pulled her to his chest and hugged her.

"You are okay, Hermione", he whispered softly. "No one here is going to hurt you, I promise. You however may hurt me if you wish as I did scare you."

Hermione let out a quiet giggle at the last sentence but shook her head. "No, you don't deserve to be hurt but I will be pranking you when you least expect it."

George shuddered. He knew from experience that she was almost worse than him and Fred combined which would terrify the most experienced of aurors. He started backing away from the room trying to get a head start before she decided to just prank him then and there. He knew her pranks were worse when done in a small room like this.

"Well, I am going to go and get lunch. You should eat as well 'Mione. Starving yourself will make your work sloppy."

Hermione sighed knowing that George was right. When she had first started working for the twins she had gone without food several times while trying to inventory the back of the shop only to look at it the next day and realize that she had made mistakes because of not eating. It was extremely annoying and that was the only reason she followed George out of the room and up to the flat. Well maybe not the only reason. For some reason she was extremely tired. She wasn't sure if it was the conversation she and Fred had had over breakfast or if it was just build up to her time of the month but it was absolutely ridiculous how tired she was.

Being as deep in thought as she was, Hermione ran into George's back as he tried to get the flat door open.

"Oof, sorry George, didn't realize you had stopped."

George chuckled. "I'm not surprised. I could hear the wheels turning in the pretty little head of yours."

George couldn't see it, but at his last comment Hermione blushed. She thought that she was used to the quick comments of the twins but sometimes they would say something like that and it would throw her off. No one used to compliment her. The most that would happen is being ignored. She tried to get used to the twins but it was hard. They could go days without a compliment and then quick as a flash have one hanging in the air before she could blink. It was confusing to say the least as she thought at least one of them had a little crush on her. She certainly wouldn't be opposed to the attention. The last time she had even kissed someone was when she was with Ron and she didn't really count that anymore.

Hermione sighed and wondered if George was going to open the door before feeling his hand grab hers and pull her along. She had been standing in the doorway for several seconds during her internal ramblings with George just looking and smirking at her. He had turned around after complimenting her and opened the door and when he stepped through he had turned and noticed she was no longer paying any attention to what was going on around her.

George wasn't surprised that she had zoned out. She did that every time he or Fred complimented her and so they tried complimenting her all the time to get her used to it. So far, the only change was the length of her zoning out. It was becoming shorter and shorter with each compliment which made both men happy. They wanted her to quickly get over her lack of self-confidence and if constantly complimenting her is what did it, well the boys were always willing to help.

Walking into the flat, Hermione noticed that Fred was at the stove and her stomach clenched a little. She'd had the twin's food before and all though both boys were efficient in making potions their cooking was like poison. Fred turned from the stove to look at Hermione and chuckled. He saw that she looked a little disconcerted at him standing and cooking but he wasn't going to stand aside today. No, today he was going to cook something edible.

"Whatcha looking like that for, 'Mione?"

Hermione looked at Fred trying to force her face to look normal but the look of disgust was still there. "Well, I'm a little worried that I am about to die if I eat your cooking today."

George started laughing quietly while staring at the look of mock hurt that spread across Fred's face. "Are you saying that I can't cook? That wounds me deep."

Hermione burst out laughing. "I've been working here way too long to fall for that Fred. You should know better by now."

Fred's look of hurt changed into a pout. "You know, you used to humour me. What's changed, 'Mione?"

Hermione smiled softly. "I've changed, Freddy, you know that."

Fred quickly sobered at that and walked over and hugged Hermione to him. He knew that their conversation that morning had been rough and he was glad that she had stayed at work that day. He knew that if she had gone home the likelihood of her eating would have been slim. This way he and George could make sure that she ate a decent meal before work ended. He had never expected to be so protective of the woman but now that the instinct was there he didn't question it. It was now a part of both him and his brother and as long as she didn't protest that instinct would be permanent.

George watched as his brother held Hermione and tried to not get jealous. He knew that his brother was more aware of why she was upset but he couldn't help but want to be the one comforting her. Without truly thinking about it he walked over and encircled both Hermione and his brother into a hug of his own and just held on, glad when he heard no complaints from either of them.

The embrace lasted until Hermione smelt something burning and pulled away with a light laugh to fix whatever it was that Fred was trying to cook. The twins shared a look as she started her intricate dance through the kitchen to make all three of them something edible. The laughter and her quick light movements made both men shift slightly and smile. It only took Hermione a few minutes to have lunch ready and when she turned around both men inhaled sharply at the rosy glow that Hermione had. It had been a long time since they had seen that particular look and they both loved it. Without realizing it, both twins made the same vow to themselves at the same time. Both vowed to recreate that look any chance they got.


End file.
